George Soros-founded university to be kicked out of Hungary by right-wing government

George Soros founded Central European University in 1991. (Olivier Hoslet / AP)

Central European University, founded by philanthropist George Soros, is set to be expelled from Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the leader of the right-wing government, has spent more than a year attacking CEU, including a law passed last April that ruled that foreign universities can’t enroll Hungarian students unless they also have classes in their home countries; the university opened a campus at Bard College in response.

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But the Hungarian government refused to recognize the program and has instead threatened to kick CEU out by Jan. 1 unless the school comes up with another solution.

“For 18 months, we have defended our right to remain as a U.S. degree-granting institution in Budapest, but we are unable to secure the guarantees we need from the Hungarian government to preserve our academic freedom,” the university’s president, Michael Ignatieff, said at a press conference Thursday, according to the New York Times.

“This is our home. If the government thinks they can get rid of CEU, they’ve got another thing coming.”

If the school and the government cannot reach an agreement, new students will be enrolled in Vienna, Austria.

The Hungarian government has led an anti-Soros campaign, including this billboard which reads "99% reject illegal migration" and "Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh." (Pablo Gorondi / AP)

Soros, who was born in Hungary and survived Nazi occupation of Budapest during World War II, has long been a target of Orban’s anti-Semitism as the prime minister continually accuses the Jewish philanthropist of allowing Muslim immigrants to take over Hungary.

Earlier this year, Soros’ Open Society Foundations moved from Budapest to Berlin “as the Hungarian government prepares to impose further restrictions on nongovernmental organizations through what it has branded its ‘Stop Soros’ package of legislation,” according to a press release.

“The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union,” Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations, said in a statement. “The so-called Stop Soros package of laws is only the latest in a series of such attempts. It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference.”

On Tuesday, a pipe bomb was delivered in the mail to the New York home of Soros, who has been a right-wing target in the United States as well. Bill and Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former Attorney General Eric Holder, CNN and Rep. Maxine Waters all received similar packages.